Scuttlebutt Europe #2366 - 9 June

Brought to you by Boats.com Europe, Yachtworld.com Europe, Scuttlebutt Europe is a digest of sailing news and opinions, regatta results, new boat and gear information and letters from sailors -- with a European emphasis. Contributions welcome, send to

The forecasters didn't get the third day of Skandia Sail for Gold wrong, as Weymouth Bay and Portland Harbour were battered by unseasonably strong winds. The Skud and 2.4m didn't make it off the dock, but the other 11 Olympic and Paralympic classes did, and took on conditions that were definitely 'top end'. The average wind speed on the breakwater read 25 knots throughout the day, with gusts up to 29 knots. There was damage to boats, broken masts and capsizes, stuff that you rarely see from the top Olympic sailors in the world. And it was the Brits who most relished the conditions, leading five of the 13 fleets as the sun began to set on a still windswept Weymouth Bay.

The only Paralympic class to race was the Sonar, and both contests were won by Skandia Team GBR's John Robertson, Hannah Stodel and Steve Thomas, giving them the overall lead. The Dutch trio, Udo Hessels, Marcel Van Veen and Mischa Rossen stayed in second and the French team of Bruno Jourdren, Eric Flageul and Nicolas Vimont Vicary moved up one place into third.

The Match Racing schedule was badly disrupted, initially by boat damage and then by the close-to 30 knots gusts howling across the harbour. The gold fleet just managed to sail a handful of races, and it was Australia's Nicky Souter, Jessica Eastwell and Lucinda Witty, along with Sally Barkow, Elizabeth Kratizig-Burnham and Alana O'Reilly from the USA that kept a clean sheet. Anna Tunnicliffe, Molly Vendemoer and Debbie Capozzi (USA) and Lucy Macgregor, Annie Lush and Kate Macgregor (GBR) are level on one win and one loss each, while both the Netherlands' Mandy Mulder, Annemieke Bes and Merel Witteveen and France's Anne-claire Le Berre, Alice Ponsar and Myrtille Ponge are still looking for their first win.

It was the final day of heats for the 49ers, 470s, RS:X and Laser classes before they are spilt into gold and silver fleets. The 49ers waited till very late in the day in an attempt to equalise the number of races that the two flights had sailed but ultimately failed, leaving some of them with six race results and others with seven. The rules state that they go back to the last time they had an even number of races. And that left Italy's Sibello Brothers top of the heap, chased by Britain's John Pink and Rick Peacock, and then Stevie Morrison and Ben Rhodes.

Gilmour Shines in the Opening Qualifying Session of Korea Match Cup Gyeonggi Province, Korea: Four-time Match Racing World Champion Peter Gilmour emerged as one of the on-form skippers in a feisty first day of racing at the Korea Match Cup. Gilmour (AUS) YANMAR Racing finished the first Qualifying Session with four wins from five races including important victories over fellow countryman Torvar Mirsky (AUS) The Wave Muscat and Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing.

Over nine flights and with a light breeze of around six to 12 knots, the sailors' skills were put to the test as they went head-to-head in the specially-designed KM36 yachts.

Gilmour, one of the most respected and feared competitors on the Tour, was only defeated by last year's Korea Match Cup winner Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Match Racing Team and finishes the day at the top of the scoreboard.

Defending Korea Match Cup champion Mathieu Richard (FRA) French Racing Team went down to Campbell-James and Robertson but scored big wins over Gilmour and Mirsky.

Korean talent Sung Wook Kim got a taste of world class match racing on his home waters with his Busan Match Team suffering three defeats in three races.

"It was really tough for us just to qualify but I feel very honoured to be here competing against the very best professionals in sailing," Kim said. "Last year we beat Peter Gilmour so hopefully we will be able to do it again this year."

Follow all the action from the second Qualifying Session from the Korea Match Cup live at http://www.wmrt.com from 1000 to 1700 local time (GMT+9).

What A Day That Was! Racing commenced today at The Tactick J/80 UK National Championship 2011 in association with Baltic Wharf which is being hosted by the Royal Dart Yacht Club. The first three races of the championship were sailed on windward leeward courses laid in Start Bay, just outside the beautiful port of Dartmouth. All 26 crews enjoyed brilliant sunshine and a strong and shifty westerly breeze for the racing, which ranged between 25 and 30 knots for the greater part of the bay. A short and choppy work bench (wind with tide) only served to add to the thrills and spills on the racecourse.

The provisional results (still subject to protest at the time of going to press) show Kevin Sproul and the crew of J.A.T at the top of the leader board at the end of day one with seven points; a scoreline which includes two race wins. In third is Jumpin Jenga, skippered by Stewart Hawthorn on nine points. This is a particularly impressive scoreline considering the major blow-out of Hawthorn's bright red kite which the Solent fleet has become used to seeing out towards the front of the fleet. Rob Larke's J2X is third overall as we go to press and this is a great result for him too. Rob's 'fresh out of the box' J/80 won the last race of the day and Rob feels that he has found his form. Rob said 'We've definitely got good pace, especially downwind, and the crew are settling in nicely to the new boat. Our boat handling is good in these testing conditions and we got the first beat of the last race just right too.'

There is a huge buzz in this class at the moment, in part because everyone is gearing up for the 2012 J/80 World Championship which will also be held in the port in June next year.

Bainbridge International Introduces Membrane SailsClick on image to enlarge.

As part of Bainbridge International's continuous development program, we are excited to introduce our first Membrane sail. We are now able to offer the sailmaker a bespoke load path membrane system.

Diax2 Membrane is designed to give the sailmaker a stronger, lighter, high performance sail made to their exact specifications. DIAX2M utilises advanced fibre stringing techniques and is available in a variety of styles and fibre types, with the race version featuring clear films and the cruise version with double taffetas. Single and internal taffetas are also available.

Playing a vital part in the launch of our new membrane sail construction is the creation of http://sailsource.bainbridgeint.com - an interactive trade website which allows the sailmaker easy access to accurate membrane quotes.

For more information on new DIAX2M or to request samples of any of our products, please contact your local sailmaker or email us at

Porto Cervo, Italy: Strong winds, close encounters and equipment pushed to the limit made for an interesting first day for the 27 superyachts competing in the Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta co-organized by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda and Boat International Media in Porto Cervo. Today's overall classification shows the 2010 winner Ganesha at the top of the Cruising category while Highland Fling XI leads the Performance Category and Claus Peter Offen's Y3K heads up the Wally fleet.

Both fleets started on schedule in around 8 to 10 knots of Mistral breeze which built to around 15 knots towards the top of the course, at Barrettinelli di Fuori island, and gusted up to 25 knots on the homeward run through Bomb Alley.

A little too exciting at times in the Performance Division, as the fleet converged on the first windward mark all together. Four protest flags flew from different yachts and it will be a late evening for the afterguard of some of the Performance boats, and also for the international jury tasked with deciding what, if any, penalties to apply to some near-miss incidents.

Dr Peter Wacker's Fitzroy Yachts 38.8m Ganesha won the Cruising Division on corrected time by more than three minutes from Harry Macklowe's Unfurled, with Hasso Plattner's lightweight Baltic 147 Visione tearing past the rest of the fleet to finish in 3rd. In Performance, Irvine Laidlaw steered his Reichel-Pugh 82-footer Highland Fling XI to victory ahead of Pierluigi Loro Piana's My Song. Y3K lies in 3rd, although this evening's protests could yet alter the standings.

Racing is scheduled to continue tomorrow, 9th June at 12 midday and the forecast is for 20 to 25 knots of westerly wind.

Farr 40 Class To Launch "The Fabulous 40s" Book Annapolis, USA: The Farr 40 Class Association is pleased to announce publication of the first book detailing the history of the class and bringing together the owners, boats and crews who have shaped the development of the fleet over the past 15 years. The book will be officially presented by John Calvert- Jones on behalf of fellow stakeholders in the project Vincenzo Onorato, Jim Richardson and Lang Walker. Calvert-Jones, who is a former class president (1999-2002), World Champion (2000) and the first Life Member of the class association, will welcome past and present owners as well as members of the press to the presentation at the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda (Porto Cervo, Sardinia) on Friday, 1st July 2011, during the second leg of the Farr 40 European Circuit.

Aptly titled "The Fabulous 40s" and produced with the support of long-time Farr 40 Class sponsor Rolex, the book tells the story of what is one of the most successful contemporary one-design racing yachts worldwide.

The choice of the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda as the venue for the book's launch is no coincidence as the exclusive Sardinian club has a long history of collaboration with the class and has hosted several World and European Farr 40 Championships.

Details of where to purchase a copy of "The Fabulous 40s" will be available shortly on www.farr40.org

New Zealand's Alistair Gair confirmed overnight that he will not be defending his 2010 Musto Australasian Etchells Winter Championship title this week in Mooloolaba, Queensland.

In a late night call Gair detailed the final stages of a drama that has been unfolding all week.

'On Wednesday last week our Etchells Velsheda turned up in Queensland and Australian Customs service were processing everything fine. In the last 48 hours however we were notified we didn't have a new form that applies to the boat trailer. We had no idea we had to fill out that form and were not told we needed it. It requires a whole raft of information about the trailer for Australian Road regulations we could not get completed in time. We haven't needed it when we brought the boat in from New Zealand previously.

'We tried very hard to solve the problem and the Mooloolaba event organisers enlisted some high powered help but we just ran out of time.

'Tracey Johnstone, Denis Cook, the Executive Officer of Yachting Queensland, the Queensland Minister for Sport, Mr Phil Reeve, Queensland Senator Claire Moore and one of her staff Meredith Newman worked very hard but it became apparent last night we would not get a clearance until next week.

'Unfortunately we could not get a charter boat and we were pretty much forced to make a call last night and had to can our flights just before midnight.

'This event is fantastic and we considered it a key part of our 2012 Etchells Worlds campaign for Sydney. In fourteen years so far there has never been a dual winner, so we wanted to be the ones to break the drought.

'But if we can't be there, we will be cheering from across the ditch for Dave Clark. He is originally from Auckland, went to the '87 America's Cup and never came home.

'We are looking to the Worlds in February at the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron. We will come across for a couple of weekends in Sydney for the pre-Nationals, just to sail on the Worlds course.

Crewfuel - Energy And Hydration During Sailing Once you hit the water for a days inshore event or several days of offshore racing, it is just you, your boat and the food, drink and spares you have the space to carry. Whether it is singlehanded or 15 crew on a 60ft yacht, space and weight are critical. This means you need to get the most energy and nutrients from the food and drink you carry.

Regular eating will maintain energy levels on a stable platform and drinking regularly will help combat dehydration.

The Crew Fuel Instant Carbs Sports Drink provides you with high levels of energy and small amounts of Caffeine to increase alertness. We know how hard it is to remember or sometimes impossible to eat solids therefore the carbs in the drink maintains energy levels.

Preventing dehydration is key during exercise as this is the loss of water and electrolytes like sodium. Electrolytes help the brain and nervous system transmit and receive important signals that allow the muscles to contract and relax. Replacing electrolytes help to prevent cramping of muscles.

Maintaining energy and hydration on the water is vital to the performance of your crew.www.crewfuel.com

Velux 5 Oceans Welcomes Soloceans One Design Sir Robin Knox-Johnston (Clipper Ventures) and Yvan Griboval (SailingOne) took advantage of the Velux 5 Oceans prizegiving ceremony on Friday 3rd of June at La Rochelle (France) to officially welcome the SolOceans One Design Class at the start of the ninth edition of the single-handed race around the world in several legs, in the autumn of 2014.

Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, President of Clipper Ventures who organised the Velux 5 Oceans, confirmed that the ninth edition in 2014-15 will welcome not only the successful Eco 60 Class, which has shown its durability during the 2010-11 race, but will also welcome the SolOceans One Design Class. It will allow sailors, both men and women, to race solo around the world on a level playing field. Thanks to its reasonable and controlled budgets, a good number of skippers and sponsors of all nationalities will therefore be able to take each other on using the same weapons in this unique adventure around the world.

The SolOceans Class is a 52.5 foot high-tech carbon one-design yacht (16 meters), which has been designed by Jean-Marie Finot and Pascal Conq, with Michel Desjoyeaux as Technical Consultant of the Class. This monohull, imagined by Yvan Griboval (SailingOne), was conceived and developed between 2006 and 2010, thanks to the feedback provided by 25 leading offshore skippers who sailed onboard the first boat during the course of the 30,000 nautical miles covered in its test circumnavigation of the planet.

"The offshore sailor I was and the businessman that I have become can only rejoice that today there is the possibility to offer young skippers and small companies the opportunity to access the highest sporting level: competition on a level playing field on the one hand and one of the hardest ocean routes in the world on the other. Three boats of the SolOceans One Design Class are already built. Construction will recommence again at the start of next year to ensure that five to eight boats are on the start line of the 5 OCEANS 2014-15." said Griboval.

The route and the host ports for the 2014 edition of the 5 OCEANS will be announced at a later date.

Peter Stollery Wins International One Metre World Championship West Kirby, Great Britain" The International One Metre Class World Championships took place last week in Great Britain at West Kirby Sailing Club. A truly international fleet of 22 nations gathered from as far afield as Argentina, Brazil, New Zealand, Canada and Israel to name a few.

As is the often the way with radio sailing events, due to the high number of races, consistency proved to be the key. Peter Stollery (GBR) proved to be the most consistent though as he was crowned champion ahead of former World Champion Brad Gibson in second.

From the middle of the regatta the pair were separated by little more than a couple of points with the regatta going down to the final race which the boats went into tied on points.

In the deciding race both boats uncharacteristically had problems starting with one being over the line and called back and the other running out of line and having to circle. Both boats rounded the first mark in the middle of the fleet. However it was Stollery who was able to recover to win the race and the event in style.

The level of competition was very high with five out of the six former One Metre World Champions competing. The week provided a good variety of conditions with the sailors using both the A and B rigs for considerable periods. The pre event favourites were World Champion Zvonko Jelacic (CRO) who in addition had also won the UK nationals at the venue the previous year together with Marko Matic (CRO), current European Champion. A strong showing from the British team was also expected who had a number of sailors capable of winning the event.

Not Sailing... But Beyond Cool...Photo by NASA. Click on image to enlarge.

U2 delivered a surprise to the crowds at Quest Field, Seattle last night with a video message from Commander Mark E. Kelly. Bono dedicated 'Beautiful Day' to Gabby Giffords, before asking, "Imagine a man looking down on us from 200 miles up. Looking down at our beautiful crowded planet... What would he say to us...? What is on your mind Commander Kelly?"

Commander Kelly, on a 16-day mission with the Endeavour crew, recorded the message aboard the International Space Station, "Hello Seattle... from the International Space Station." Before finishing on a line from David Bowie's 'Space Oddity' : "I'm looking forward to coming home. Tell my wife I love her very much... she knows."

Watch Commander Kelly's lead into Beautiful Day... his wife US Congresswoman Gabby Giffords was shot in the head by a mentally ill man who should never have been able to buy a gun. She is recovering, slowly, but miraculously.

An excellent cruiser/ racer with a great sail-wardrobe and a competitive IRC rating of 0.900. Substantial improvements were carried out in 2006/ 2007 and she is currently looking particularly smart. A recent survey is available to view on request.

The Last Word Kids' views are often just as valid as the teachers'. The best teachers are the ones that know that. -- Morley Safer

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